Rice University’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching and Service has been given to Lydia E. Kavraki, the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science, professor of Bioengineering, professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University. She is also the Director of Rice’s Ken Kennedy Institute.
This award, administered by the Center for Teaching Excellence, is bestowed on faculty members who fulfill the Rice academic ideal by exhibiting exemplary achievement in all aspects of faculty responsibilities: research, teaching and service. The ceremony will take place in person on April 26th after a two-year hiatus.
“I am deeply honored by this recognition,” Kavraki said. “With this award I would like to acknowledge all the students who have challenged me in classes, the students and collaborators with whom I had the opportunity to explore new directions in research, and all the colleagues with whom I have served in committees for the benefit of our University. I love my job at Rice.”
Kavraki's research interests span robotics, AI, and biomedicine and blends her extensive interdisciplinary background in computer science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, bioengineering and biomedical sciences promoting the convergence of these disciplines.
She previously received Rice’s Charles Duncan Award for Excellence in Research and Teaching, Rice’s Presidential Mentorship Award and the Outstanding Faculty Research Award from the Engineering School.
Notably, Kavraki was the recipient of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Grace Murray Hopper Award, ACM Athena Lecturer Award and the ACM/AAAI Allen Newell Award among many others.
A native of Greece, Kavraki received her bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Crete and her Ph.D. from Stanford University. She joined the Rice faculty in 1997.
More information about her research can be found at the Kavraki Lab website.